Keegan Bradley wins BMW Championship in playoff

By Dan GelstonThe Associated Press

Mon., Sept. 10, 2018

NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA.—Keegan Bradley had bottomed out, crashing from the high of winning the PGA Championship to tumbling out of the 100 in the world. His chances to represent U.S. teams in international play had dried up, his preferred putting method was banned, and the confidence that once put him on the cusp of greatness was shot.

“It’s scary when I look back, because I didn’t know I needed this much improvement,” Bradley said.

Keegan Bradley plays a shot from the bunker on the third hole during the weather-delayed final round of the BMW Championship on Monday. (Drew Hallowell / Getty Images)

He was like a scientist in the lab, changing his swing, his putting stroke, his fundamentals — investing in the work needed to get to where he was Monday on soggy Aronimink: going head-to-head in a sudden-death playoff against the new No. 1 player in the world, Justin Rose.

For a player who had to reinvent his game, the clutch moment didn’t seem so scary.

Bradley topped Rose with a par on the first playoff hole to win the rain-plagued BMW Championship for his first PGA Tour victory in six years.

Bradley’s fourth career win meant a bit more than the others — yes, even the major he won in 2011 — because he held more than a trophy and a $1.62 million check. He also got to give his young son Logan a victory toss in the air on the 18th green for the first time. Bradley, who shot a final round 6-under 64 to finish at 20-under 260, thrust his arms toward the grey sky and drizzle in celebration and waved his family toward him.

“I’ve won before, and I win and I finish, and I go home, just me,” Bradley said. “Now, I get to go back and we get to have fun and enjoy it together. It’s just a completely different experience.”

Rose left Aronimink with a new reality as well. Though he was runner-up at the FedEx Cup playoff event, he didn’t come up short in the world ranking. Rose moved No. 1 in the world ahead of Dustin Johnson and became the 22nd player to reach the top spot since the ranking began in 1986.

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“I’m delighted to be world No. 1,” Rose said. “Boyhood dreams, you know what I mean?”

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., the lone Canadian in the tourney, tied for 19th at 12 under for the event after a 67 in the final round. He’s 36th in the FedEx Cup standings and will miss the Tour Championship.

Later, the day’s other golf mystery was solved when U.S. Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk made Tony Finau his final pic.

Finau joins Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods as Furyk’s four wild-card selections. Finau has 11 top-10s this season, including three in majors.

“There won’t be any locker room noise with me,” Finau said Monday. “I can play with anyone. I feel that my personality is just that way. I can bring the best out of different guys playing with them, and them the same to me. I’m pretty easy to play with. And I’m playing some good golf, some world-class golf.”

His appeal is that he makes a lot of birdies, which is critical in match play. He was paired with Furyk the first two days at the PGA Championship, and struggled in the opening round before he tied a championship record by making 10 birdies in the second round.

“He has an unbelievable body of work this year,” Furyk said. “All those top-10 finishes, the play in big championships and the majors, and then his current form, a second, a fourth and an eighth in the playoffs. He checked a lot of boxes and made it impossible not to pick him.”